Have you ever wondered why heavy metal singers can scream for hours on end, but other singers lose their voices all the time? You’d think it would be the other way around, right? Turns out there’s a weird answer to this medical mystery of music.
Using a special high-speed camera designed to visualize vocal cords, a speech doctor in San Francisco discovered that a heavy metal singer’s screaming is more like a baby’s than an adult’s. When a metal singer sings, they’re not actually straining their vocal cords. Their muscles relax and flap to create sounds, rather than squeezing out the loudness like most adults.
It’s a skill that babies instinctively use to protect their throats while crying and screaming, but is usually forgotten as they grow older. For whatever reason, heavy metal singers are still able to do it, and doctors hope they can teach the technique to patients with throat injuries and vocal issues.
© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Ad Choices
